The defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 Chevrolet Caprice vehicles manufactured October 15, 2010, to October 22, 2013, and 2008-2009 Pontiac G8 vehicles manufactured July 25, 2007, to February 18, 2009. In the affected vehicles, the flexible steel cables that connect the seat belts to the vehicle at the outside of the driver seat and the front passenger seat may be bent from being sat on while entering the vehicle. This repeated bending may result in the cable breaking.
The risk
If the cable breaks, the seat occupant may not be properly restrained in the event of a crash, increasing their risk of injury.
The remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the seat belt tensioner assembly which includes the steel cable, free of charge. These replacement parts reposition the tensioner cable out of the path of entry into the vehicle and uses a more flexible cable, set at a more upright angle. The recall began on July 5, 2016. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or Pontiac customer service at 1-800-762-2737. GM's number for this recall is 15206.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Chevrolet Caprice | 2011, 2012, 2013 |
| Pontiac G8 | 2008, 2009 |
Components: SEAT BELTS
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet Caprice | 2011 | 1 | 3 |
| Chevrolet Caprice | 2012 | 0 | 3 |
| Chevrolet Caprice | 2013 | 6 | 4 |
| Pontiac G8 | 2008 | 71 | 4 |
| Pontiac G8 | 2009 | 144 | 4 |
Other seat belts recalls in 2015
26 of the 863 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2015 concerned the seat belts; General Motors LLC filed 272 campaigns in all.
| 15V876000 23 Dec 2015 | General Motors LLC |
| 15V867000 22 Dec 2015 | Ford Motor Company |
| 15V848000 17 Dec 2015 | Jayco, Inc. |
| 15V820000 7 Dec 2015 | Polaris Industries, Inc. |
| 15V806000 30 Nov 2015 | Forest River, Inc. |
| 15V780000 23 Nov 2015 | Tesla Motors, Inc. |
| 15V694000 23 Oct 2015 | Halcore Group, Inc. |
| 15V657000 14 Oct 2015 | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2015